Alligator Adventure

🎓 Audience

Education: Grade(s) 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Teacher(s)/Educator(s), Parent, Adult Learners, Homeschool/Family, Learning Pod; Public Library: Library Patrons, Library Staff

 🐾 Topics

Career & Technical Education (CTE), Economics/Business, Health & Physical Education, Industrial Technology, Professional Development, Science, STEM, Technology/Information Science

🗂️ Format

• Introduction and Prior Knowledge: Introduction to alligators and other reptiles, encouraging participants to share any facts or insights they’ve gathered beforehand.

• Segment 1 - Meet Our Alligator: Meet Mote’s resident alligator, while learning about the physical characteristics, behaviors, and adaptations of reptiles.

• Video 1 - Reptile Care and Husbandry: A short video is shown, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the specialized care and husbandry practices for alligators at the aquarium.

• Segment 2 - Crocodilian Diversity and Ecosystem Roles: Dives into the diversity of crocodilians and the critical role alligators play as ecosystem engineers in Florida’s wetlands.

• Video 2 - Conservation Success Stories: A brief video highlighting global conservation efforts to protect crocodilians and the successful recovery of the American Alligator.

• Segment 3 - Q&A Session: Interactive Q&A session, where participants can ask questions and engage in discussions about alligators, reptiles, and conservation.

• Segments may vary due to weather and veterinary priorities. We will make every effort to deliver the segments as described but may use a combination of live and recorded video when necessary.

🎯 Objectives

1. Identify key characteristics of American Alligators and other crocodilians through interactive segments and videos.

2. Describe the role of alligators as ecosystem engineers in Florida’s wetlands, based on presented information and discussions.

3. Analyze the conservation status of various crocodilian species and evaluate the effectiveness of current conservation efforts.

4. Create a summary of how alligators are cared for at Mote Aquarium, incorporating insights from the behind-the-scenes video.

5. Engage in a Q&A session to discuss and ask questions about alligator behavior, habitat, and conservation.

✏️ Standards this program supports

• ESS3C 3-5 -- Human impacts on Earth systems

• LS1B 3-5 -- Growth and development of organisms

• Ocean Literacy Principles

  1. Ocean Literacy Principle #5 – The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems.

  2. Ocean Literacy Principle #6 – The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected.

• UN SDGs

  1. 14 - Life Below Water

Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS)

• SC.3.L.15.1 – Classify animals into major groups based on physical characteristics and behaviors. Application: Students learn about turtlesd as vertebrates, their classification as reptiles, and how they differ from other animals.

• SC.4.L.17.4 – Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment. Application: The program discusses how turtles and organisms interact with their environment and the effects of human activities on them.

• SC.5.L.15.1 – Describe how, when the environment changes, differences between individuals allow some plants and animals to survive and reproduce while others die or move to new locations. Application: Students learn about reptile adaptation and resilience in changing environments.

• SC.6.L.15.1 – Analyze how organisms are classified based on shared characteristics. Application: Students examine sea turtles within the Linnaean classification system and their distinguishing biological traits.

• SC.7.L.17.3 – Describe limiting factors in an ecosystem and their impact on populations. Application: The program investigates factors affecting turtle populations, such as water quality, habitat availability, and disease.

• Adaptation: A trait or characteristic that improves an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment, such as the alligator's camouflaged skin.

• Alligator: A large, carnivorous reptile native to the southeastern United States, characterized by its broad snout and powerful jaws.

• Biodiversity: The variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem, encompassing the number of different species and their interactions.

• Cold-blooded: An animal whose body temperature changes with the temperature of its environment, such as an alligator, which basks in the sun to warm up. Also called an ectotherm.

• Conservation: The practice of protecting and preserving natural resources, habitats, and species to prevent extinction and maintain biodiversity.

• Crocodilian: A member of the order Crocodylia, which includes alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and gharials, known for their semi-aquatic lifestyle and predatory nature.

• Ecosystem Engineer: An organism that significantly alters, creates, or maintains a habitat, thereby affecting other species and the environment, such as alligators in wetlands.

• Endangered Species: A species that is at risk of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range; alligators were once endangered but have recovered thanks to conservation efforts.

• Gator Hole: A depression in a wetland dug by an alligator that holds water during dry periods and serves as a refuge for many aquatic species.

• Habitat: The natural environment in which an organism lives, including factors like food, shelter, and conditions necessary for survival.

• Husbandry: The care, cultivation, and breeding of animals, particularly in a controlled environment like an aquarium or zoo, to ensure their health and well-being.

• Keystone Species: A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance; alligators are considered keystone species because their behaviors shape wetland ecosystems.

• Nocturnal: Active primarily during the night; alligators often hunt at night to avoid daytime heat and surprise prey.

• Osteoderm: Bony deposits embedded in the skin of reptiles like alligators that form protective armor and help regulate body temperature. Also more commonly called scutes.

• Reptile: A cold-blooded, air-breathing vertebrate that usually has scaly skin and lays eggs, including animals such as snakes, turtles, and alligators.

• Wetland: A land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such as marshes or swamps, which provides critical habitat for many species, including alligators.

Play Alligator Bingo

Play virtual bingo using a computer, smartphone or tablet during your program to reinforce key concepts and vocabulary.

• Online

• On paper/PDF

🌐 Websites

• American Alligator

• Alligator Snapping Turtle

📚 Books & Publications

• Alligator or Crocodile? A Compare and Contrast Book by Jennifer Shields

• After A While Crocodile: Alexa's Diary by Jennifer Keats Curtis

🖥️ Videos

• The Teeth Beneath (The Tooth Behind The Training)

• Creature Feature | The Teeth Beneath

• Florida’s Wild Side